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Episode 23: Hyper Sensitive? The Secret to Reframe Emotional Vulnerability to Heal From Addiction

What if the trait you’ve spent years hiding could actually be your greatest strength?

In this episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs shares how hypersensitivity—often seen as a flaw—can become a powerful tool for healing, empathy, and connection. Through his own story of addiction and recovery, Jason shows how emotional sensitivity is not a weakness to overcome but a superpower to embrace.

Highlights include:

• Why sensitivity often leads to perfectionism and people-pleasing
• How addiction is less about rebellion and more about seeking relief
• The “allergy analogy” that reframes addiction without shame or judgment
• Reflection questions for families to better understand what addiction solves for their loved one—and for themselves

Jason’s journey is a reminder that recovery begins with honesty, not perfection. If you or your family have ever felt “too sensitive,” this episode will help you see that the very thing you’ve been running from might be the key to lasting transformation.

📘 For deeper insights, check out Jason’s book Unhooked on Audible or Amazon.

🌐 Learn more at brickhouserecovery.com.

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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Episode 22: “What Hooked Him?” The Hidden Moment That Starts the Addiction Spiral

What if the addiction didn’t start with a party, a choice, or even curiosity—but with a moment his brain responded differently than yours would have?

In this raw and eye-opening episode, Jason Coombs breaks down “the hook”—the invisible turning point when substance use becomes something much more powerful and dangerous. He opens up about his own experience, the voice inside that addicts wrestle with, and why some people can walk away after using… while others get trapped instantly.

Whether you’re a mother, spouse, or loved one desperate to understand what happened to him, this episode will give you a new lens. You’ll learn:

• What “the hook” actually is—and why it’s not about willpower
• The internal battle between the addict voice and the rational mind
• How mental health issues like ADHD and anxiety make addiction more likely
• Why some people spiral faster—and how to spot the signs early
• How empathy (not enabling) becomes the turning point for healing

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What happened to him?”—this is your answer.

Featuring tools and insights from Jason’s book Unhooked: How to Help an Addicted Loved One Recover, and his work at Brick House Recovery.

https://a.co/d/g2LT2ph

Listen now, and share with someone who feels lost and alone in their loved one’s addiction.

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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When addiction takes hold of someone you love, it can feel like your whole life is consumed with fear, anxiety, and constant exhaustion. In this episode, Jason Coombs shares how one simple but powerful tool—a daily affirmation—can transform the way you respond to the chaos of addiction in your family.

Drawing from his own journey through depression during his wife’s cancer battle, Jason reveals how morning routines and affirmations helped him rebuild resilience, restore peace, and show up differently for the people he loves. Whether you’re a parent, spouse, or family member walking alongside an addicted loved one, these practices can help you reclaim your strength and hope.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• [00:30] The Miracle Morning framework for rising above daily challenges
• [04:44] The SAVERS method: six daily practices for mental wellness
• [08:08] How the Ideal Life Vision Course reshaped Jason’s future
• [14:24] Seven affirmations for seven days of intentional living
• [17:29] The meta-affirmation: I am healing
• [18:02] A question that will change how you speak to yourself
• [20:32] Understanding “Genshai” — never making anyone feel small (including yourself)
• [22:49] How to receive compliments with gratitude instead of deflection
• [25:32] Why authentic communication builds trust with addicted loved ones

Practical Takeaways for Families:

• Start small: 10 minutes of silence, affirmations, or journaling each morning
• Use the seven-day affirmation framework to reset your mindset
• Try the mirror exercise to shift your self-talk
• Practice Genshai—treat yourself and others in ways that never make anyone feel small

Even when your loved one isn’t ready for recovery, you can find healing, peace, and strength for yourself. As Jason reminds us: “The future is bright and beautiful when we commit to daily practices that align us with our highest selves.”

📘 Grab Jason’s book Unhooked at https://a.co/d/c357XBz

www.brickhouserecovery.com for more tools and resources.

📖 Explore Dan McCormick’s book and affirmation framework at affirmiam.com.

🎓 Register for Jason’s free web class at www.livunhooked.com to learn how to break free from the cycle of addiction in your family

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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After 31 years without a drink, bestselling author and recovery coach Arlina Allen realized something powerful: sobriety alone doesn’t guarantee freedom.

In this episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs sits down with Arlina to explore what recovery really means beyond abstinence. Arlina shares her journey of hitting bottom at 25, the tough love that saved her, and the simple daily practices that keep her grounded today. Together, they unpack why the 12 steps are so often misunderstood, why emotional sobriety matters just as much as physical sobriety, and how to move from merely surviving to truly living.

What you’ll learn in this conversation:

• Why abstinence doesn’t automatically equal recovery
• The role of mentors and hope in long-term healing
• How “I statements” can transform relationships
• Practical routines that keep recovery sustainable (without perfectionism)
• The real gift of emotional sobriety—and why it matters for families, too

About Arlina Allen:
Arlina is a Certified Coach, bestselling author of The 12-Step Guide for Skeptics, and host of The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast. She is also the founder of Sober Life School, where she helps people achieve sobriety and create lives they love. With 30 years of research and personal experience, Arlina brings deep insight to the process of transformation. Originally from Sunnyvale, CA, she now lives in Idaho with her husband of 30 years, their two sons, and their silly English Bulldog, Teddy.

Whether you’re in recovery yourself or love someone who is, this episode is packed with wisdom, encouragement, and practical takeaways you can start using right away.

👉 Ready to go deeper? Register for Jason’s free webclass for families and individuals at www.liveunhooked.com
📍 Learn more at the12stepguideforskeptics.com

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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When Faith Feels Forced, Recovery Shuts Down—Here’s What Works Instead

Families often hear that spirituality is essential for recovery—but what happens when your loved one resists it at every turn? In this heartfelt episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs shares how his own hardened ego and spiritual resistance nearly cost him his life in treatment. What finally broke through wasn’t pressure, lectures, or rules—it was unconditional love.

Jason recounts his fifth attempt at treatment, where pride, shame, and defiance collided with a group that refused to let ego poison recovery. At the breaking point, he packed his bags to leave—but an unexpected moment of divine intervention stopped him. What followed was a vision that revealed God’s love in a way he could finally receive.

For families, this story offers a crucial insight: faith cannot be forced, but it can be nurtured. Validation, patience, and steady boundaries become the soil where a spiritual awakening can finally take root.

Episode Highlights

• [00:01:18] Treatment as a Mirror – Why group living exposes hidden defenses and becomes a training ground for real life.
• [00:05:01] Ego vs. Willingness – Entering treatment arrogant, rule-breaking, and masking fear with pride.
• [00:07:48] Protecting the Culture of Recovery – How Jason’s peers (including his brother) confronted his ego head-on.
• [00:11:36] The Fork in the Road – Packed and ready to leave, Jason faces divine intervention that keeps him in treatment.
• [00:16:33] Spiritual Anorexia – Why “force-feeding faith” doesn’t work, and the power of gentle encouragement.
• [00:18:28] A Vision of Nathan’s Face – The breakthrough that revealed God’s unconditional love.
• [00:21:40] Hope for Families – Trusting that God’s providence is always at work, even when change feels delayed.

Key Takeaways for Families

• Faith can’t be forced: Pushing spiritual conversations often makes resistance stronger.
• Validation melts walls: Simple acknowledgment of where your loved one is can open doors pressure never will.
• Ego is fear in disguise: What looks like arrogance often masks shame and insecurity.
• Secrets keep people sick: Encourage safe spaces for honesty and truth.
• Boundaries create space for growth: Small, consistent commitments can nurture lasting transformation.

Closing

Jason’s story reminds families that spirituality isn’t about coercion—it’s about creating the conditions where God’s love can be received in His timing. Families can’t force awakening, but they can nurture it by validating, holding boundaries, and trusting that God is already at work.

For more encouragement, read Jason’s book Unhooked: How to Help an Addicted Loved One Recover (Amazon & Audible) and find family support resources at brickhouserecovery.com.

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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Episode 18: “The Night I Packed My Bags to Relapse… and the Secret That Kept Me Sober”

In Episode 18 of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs takes listeners back to his fifth and final treatment center experience at age 31. This episode reveals the pivotal moment that changed everything - a moment balanced precariously between walking away from recovery forever and embracing the uncomfortable truth that would save his life.

Episode Highlights

[00:27] Jason introduces the person-centered approach and the "oxygen mask" principle
[03:43] Defining success as earning respect and trust from those closest to you
[05:39] The reality of being in his fifth treatment center with previous failures
[08:49] The dangerous mindset of thinking you have "treatment figured out"
[13:48] The miraculous moment of falling asleep instead of leaving treatment
[15:08] Kris's direct confrontation: "You gotta feel it to heal it"
[16:16] The two non-negotiable requirements to stay in treatment

The Moment Everything Changed

Jason's story reaches its climax at what he calls "the jumping off point" - that critical moment where addiction either claims another victim or loses its grip forever. After four failed treatment attempts, Jason arrived at his final program thinking he had mastered the art of appearing compliant while remaining unchanged.

But this treatment center operated differently. The staff refused to coddle or enable. They wouldn't co-sign his manipulation tactics. Most importantly, they challenged him to step outside his comfort zone.

The pivotal night arrived when Jason packed his belongings in anger, ready to walk 20-30 miles downtown for drugs. What happened next defies logical explanation - he simply fell asleep. "I don't even remember thinking about falling asleep," Jason reflects. "The reality is it may have well has been and probably was [divine intervention] because I don't remember thinking about falling asleep."

The Power of Therapeutic Confrontation

Upon waking, Jason encountered Kris, a counselor who would deliver the message that changed his trajectory. Her approach wasn't gentle or accommodating. Instead, she offered stark clarity:

"I could tell you're struggling, but I want you to feel it. In fact, you have to. You gotta feel it. You gotta heal it. Don't run from your emotions anymore."

Kris presented Jason with two simple requirements if he wanted to stay:

1. Follow the rules
2. Make amends to the patients he had wronged

These weren't suggestions or therapeutic recommendations. They were boundaries - clear, firm, and non-negotiable. Kris risked losing a client and the associated revenue, but she prioritized Jason's genuine recovery over financial considerations.

The Speed of Change and Pain

Jason introduces a fundamental principle that governs transformation: "We change at the speed of pain." This concept explains why some people remain stuck in destructive patterns while others breakthrough to lasting recovery.

Pain serves as the catalyst for change, but only when we stop running from it. As Kris taught Jason, emotions become teachers when we honor them rather than numb them. "Those feelings will be the gurus to teach me things if I don't numb and run and stuff 'em."

Wiser individuals learn from observing others' journeys rather than requiring perso

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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Episode 17: She Planned to Leave Him After Sobriety—Then This Happened…with Jeff & Bree Crabtree.

Recovery doesn’t end at sobriety—it begins there. In this raw, hope-filled episode, Jeff and Bree Crabtree return to share what happens after the first year, after the promises, and after the chaos settles… or doesn’t.

🔹 Bree opens up about the moment she planned to leave Jeff—even after three years sober.

🔹 Jeff reveals the daily routines that helped him transcend recovery “ceilings.”

🔹 Together, they unpack how trust, communication, and faith transformed their marriage, family, and even their business.

🎯 This episode isn’t just for individuals in recovery—it’s for families walking through the long game of healing.

⏱️ Episode Highlights:

• [00:31] Follow-up with Jeff & Bree
• [04:59] Breaking through recovery plateaus
• [12:58] Bree’s moment of truth: “I was going to leave him.”
• [21:15] The long road to rebuilding trust
• [34:03] The turning point at 3 years sober
• [40:59] Their daily spiritual + recovery routines
• [51:06] How recovery influences their tattoo business

✨ Whether you’re married to someone in recovery or navigating your own healing, this episode gives tangible hope—and a reality check.

📍 Jeff & Bree’s business:

Lighthouse Tattoo | Boise, Idaho

Website: lighthousetattooidaho.com

Instagram: @lighthousetattoo.id

Email: jeff@lighthousetattooidaho.com

📚 Get Jason’s book Unhooked on Audible or Amazon

🌐 More resources: brickhouserecovery.com

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com

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Rewind 90 days ago to when I Couldn’t Get Out of My Funk—Until I Did This One Thing

I was stuck. Stuck in compulsive overeating. Stuck in brain fog. Stuck in a post-surgery slump. And with the Ironman on the horizon, I knew something had to change.

In this episode, I walk you through my first-ever 3-day fast—from the mental battles on day one to the surprising spiritual clarity on day three. This wasn’t just a detox. It was a wake-up call that reset my body, mind, and soul.

If you’re feeling stuck in your own life, this might be the spark you need.

➡️ Listen in and find out how doing less helped me find more.

If you’re ready to break free from the cycles keeping you stuck—whether it’s with food, substances, or just the noise of life—I want to invite you to go deeper.

Join me for a free webclass at liveunhooked.com, where I walk you through the same framework I use at Brick House Recovery to help people not only get sober—but stay unhooked for good. This is the deeper work that transforms relapse into lasting change.

Also, if you haven’t already, check out my book Unhooked—it’s available on Audible and Amazon. And if you or a loved one are looking for treatment or support, visit us at brickhouserecovery.com.

💡

Short Description for the Webclass

Discover how to stop enabling addiction and start creating real, lasting change. In this free webclass, Jason Coombs shares the proven framework behind The Brick House Way and the “Get Unhooked” system to help individuals and families experience breakthrough—not burnout.

Register for Live UNHOOKED to reclaim your clarity, your strength, and your sanity starting today!

JOIN the next FREE Webclass at liveunhooked.com
For more information on treatment services, check out brickhouserecovery.com